Export and import procedures

Exports and Imports in Ghana are controlled by the Exports and Imports Act 1995 (503). Export procedures for purposes of export documentation; exports are classified into two broad categories namely traditional and non-traditional. Traditional exports are gold, diamonds, bauxite, manganese, cocao beans, coffee, timber and electricity. Non-traditional export items include processed forms of the above products and all other products. Exporters of traditional commodities have to complete the Exchange Control A2 Form, endorsed by the exporter's bankers and presented to the Customs Examination Officer at the time of shipment.

Exporters of non-traditional products have to complete a Ghana Export Form (from the Banks or Port of Exit) and present it to Customs at the time of export. Exports of antiques, wildlife, live plant, and pet require permits from Ghana Museums and Monuments Board, Department of Game and Wildlife and the Plant Protection and Regulatory Service of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture respectively.

Export incentive schemes
The Ghana Export Promotion Council in close collaboration with the Ministry of Trade and Industry plays a crusading role in the establishment of incentive schemes for exporters, some of which are:

• An Export Proceeds Retention Scheme in operation allows exporters to exchange all (i.e 100%)foreign exchange proceeds from non-traditional exports into cedis at competitive rates negotiated with the exporter's bankers or keep them in their foreign exchange accounts.
• A Corporate Tax Rebate, which allows any manufacturer or any person, engaged in agricultural production, exporting part or all of his production to claim tax rebate between 40% and 75% of his tax liability.
• A Custom Duty Drawback that allows manufacturers to draw back up to 100% of duties paid on material imported to produce goods for export.
• A Bonded Warehousing that allows manufacturers to seek Customs licence to hold imported raw materials intended for manufacturing for export in secured places without payment of duty.
• Up-Front Duty Examination, which oprates alongside the duty drawback system enables exporters, enjoy 100% duty exemption on imports intended to go into production for export.

Import procedures
Destination Inspection Scheme
The Destination Inspection Scheme (DIS) replaced the Pre-shipment Inspection in April 2000 under the DIS; inspection of imports is at the port of clearance. The scheme has been put in place to :

• facilitate trade
• provide an efficient verification of import
• check revenue loss by providing an impartial assessment ofthe duties and taxes to be collected
• limit the opportunities for fraud, fiscal evasion and price discrimination

1. Submission of IDF form
Submit Import Declaration Form to Gateway Services Limited (GSL) 21 days before arrival of the goods, along with the Proforma Invoice, Supplementary Information Document (SID) and Tax Indentification Number (TIN) Certificate. The SID form is aavailable at GSL.

2. Final documents submission to gsl
The Final Documents must be submitted 10 days prior to the arrival of the goods. They are the Final Invoice, Bill of Lading and the Packing List.

3. The custom entry
After collection of your Final Classification and Valuation Report FCVR from GSL, lodge your Single Administrative Document (SAD) with CEPS at the Long Room along with all supporting documents (Invoice, B/L, FCVR, Exemptions, etc.)

4. At the harbour
After processing at the Long Room, your entry will be dispatched to the Harbour to various locations, depending upon the Computerised Risk Management System (CRMS) Level quoted on your FCVR, as follows:

'SCANCO' GSL office at the Harbour for scanning of the containers.
'LR/RE' SHED 10 for CEPS Examination or immediate release.
'GSBV MN' GSBV office at SHED 2 for mandatory GSBV inspection
'HIGH RISK' SHED 10 for CEPS Examination
After satisfactory process (point 4 above), CEPS will release your Out-of-Charge document. You then obtain a GATEWAY PASS from GSBV if they inspected your cargo, or GSL forthe other clearance channels.

5. The GPHA WAYBILL
Last step of the process, present your release Out-of-Charge document to GPHA to obtain a WAYBILL as proof of payment of all port charges.

Procedure for clearance
The Importer or Agent completes the Single Administrative Form (SAD) and attaches all relevant documents to the Ghana Shippers Council, Internal Revenue Service and the Ministry of Trade and Industry who are all under the same roof at the port of entry, for endorsement. The SAD is then presented alongside other documents to the Customs Long Room where the documents pass through these processes:

• Bill of Entry is checked;
• Duties paid;
• Data captured by computer;
• Duty receipt issued.